How to host Mautic on Contabo VM Instance - ServerAvatar

Mautic is an open-source marketing automation platform designed for businesses of any size. It provides tools for managing leads, emails, and campaigns, allowing users to automate and customize their marketing strategies. Hosting Mautic on Contabo VPS provides a reliable and scalable solution. Contabo's VPS plan delivers a robust infrastructure and simple deployment options. ServerAvatar simplifies the process by offering a straightforward setup process for your Mautic application on Contabo's VPS.

Create VM Instance in Contabo

What Is Contabo?

Contabo is a web hosting company that provides a variety of internet hosting services. Founded in Germany in 2003, Contabo offers services such as:

1. VPS Hosting: Virtual Private Servers with scalable resources for various needs, from small projects to larger applications.
2. Dedicated Servers: Physical servers dedicated to a single user, offering high performance and control.
3. Web Hosting: Shared hosting solutions for websites, which include storage, bandwidth, and various management tools.
4. Object Storage: Scalable storage solutions for managing large amounts of data.
5. Domain Registration: Services for registering and managing domain names.

Contabo is known for its competitive pricing, high-performance hardware, and customer service, making it a popular choice for both individual users and businesses looking for reliable hosting solutions.

To set up a server in Contabo, begin by logging into your Contabo account. Once logged in, proceed with the following steps.

Step 1: Create an account on Contabo

Login to your Contabo account, select "VPS" from the dropdown menu, and then click on "Cloud VPS".

Step 2: Select your Cloud VPS plan

Contabo offers a variety of Cloud VPS options. For hosting Mautic, you'll need a minimum of 2-4 GB of RAM and 20-40 GB of disk space, the necessary resources can differ based on factors like your usage and data needs. You can also select a higher-specification plan based on your specific needs and usage.

Here, you should select the plan that best meets your requirements as shown in the below image.

Step 3: Select Region

• First, you need to select the term length (in months) according to your requirements.
• Next, you will need to select the location for your VPS. Contabo offers multiple options for selecting the location.
• It's recommended to select the region closest to your audience. This ensures that your sites load faster for the majority of your audience due to reduced latency.

Step 4: Select your Storage Type

Contabo provides different types of storage space, including both complimentary and paid options. Here, you should select the storage type based on your specific requirements. As shown in the image below.

Step 5: Select an Image or an OS

In this step, you need to select the Operating System for your cloud VPS. We recommend using Ubuntu 20.04 LTS x64 or Ubuntu 22.04 LTS x64. Ubuntu is known for its ease of configuration and management. If you are using ServerAvatar to manage your cloud VPS, these operating systems are recommended.

Step 6: Setting a Password

Here, it's recommended to create a strong password for your root user, as it holds all privileges on the Linux OS.

Step 7: Select Object Storage

Now, you need to select object storage space for backing up your VPS. You will find several options ranging from 250 GB to 1 TB. If you do not require object storage you can select the None option from the dropdown.

Step 8: Select Network

• In the Network section, you will find three options, You should select these according to your specific requirements:
  • Private Network
  • Bandwidth
  • IPv4

Step 9: Selecting Additional Options

• Backup Space: This option allows you to add additional storage space dedicated specifically for backups of your VPS data.
• Server Management: Contabo offers server management services where they handle the day-to-day operations of your VPS.
• Monitoring: This option provides monitoring services for your VPS. It includes monitoring server uptime, resource usage (CPU, RAM, disk), and network connectivity.
• SSL: SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates are crucial for securing communication between your website and its visitors.

After completing all the necessary steps, click on the "Next" button to proceed to the payment method where you can finalize your details.

Step 10: Finalize Details

In this step, you can review all your selections for your Cloud VPS, finalize your details, and proceed with the payment. In a few minutes, your Cloud VPS will be ready. Now, we need to perform the initial configuration to host PHP-based frameworks and software.

Initial Server Configuration

The Initial server configuration includes the installation and configuration of various packages required to host your website. Usually, You have to write commands and modify configuration files. Luckily, With ServerAvatar, Your full server configuration and optimization can be automated.

Here are the three ways to automatically configure your server with ServerAvatar.

wget https://srvr.so/install
chmod +x install
./install

Auto-install Mautic with ServerAvatar

Step 1: Create a PHP application

Once you are on the server panel, access the Application tab from the sidebar.

Now by clicking the Create button, you’ll see the application creation form as the below image. Fill in the required details to create an application, including the Application Name, Primary Domain, and other PHP Settings.

Click the Create Application button.

Note that:

If you want to host Mautic CRM on your domain, then make sure to point your domain to the current IP address of your server, and for that:

1. Log in to your hosting provider site, where you buy your domain. You can check your domain information with one click.

2. Access DNS Manager to edit your DNS records(contact the support team if you don’t find them)

3. Change the IP address of A Record of your website to the current server’s IP address.

Step 2: Auto-install Mautic application

From your application panel, access the Auto deploy tab from the sidebar. Now click the Mautic Auto install card like the below image.

It asks to enter Mautic application details in the form. The details include the following-

Admin credential

These details are used for logging in to your Mautic panel as an admin.

• First Name: Enter admin first name
• Last Name: Enter admin last name
• Username: Enter admin username
• Email:You will use this email if you forget your password or want to reset the password.
• Password: Enter admin password

PHP Settings

PHP Version: You can here change the PHP version for your Mautic installation.

Email Configuration

Mail from Name: The name seen when you send an email. Mail from email: The email address from which you send an email. Mail Username: Username of chosen SMTP credential Mail password: Password of chosen SMTP credential Mail port: 25 or 465, or 587 would be recommended for sending an email. Mail Host: Chosen SMTP hostname. For example, smtp.pepipost.com.

After filling up all the details, click the Install Now button.

Step 3: Install SSL Certificate

You can install SSL for your website using just one click. On the application panel, click on the SSL Certificates tab from the sidebar.

You can also use a custom installation method to install SSL certificates. After installing the SSL, check the box Force HTTP to HTTPS to secure the communication between your browser and the website.

Once you are done, access the Application URL on your browser. It redirects to the admin login page. Enter admin credentials to log in to your Mautic admin panel.

And that’s it. You can now use Mautic to create a strong marketing strategy for your business.